Cursed
by I. G. Scorsone
Summary: It's a new age at Howarts and with the Second Wizarding War only a memory now, students can enjoy peace, quiet and legendery pranks. It was peace and quiet the night Rose Weasley was bitten by an unnamed werewolf. Now, her whole life is turned upside down as she struggles to keep her secret. But people are very observant creatures...
1. Chapter 1

"You are _infuriating_!"  
Rose Weasley has been called a lot of things over the years. Smart, quick-witted, spontaneous. Even lazy, every once in a while, when she 'forgot' to turn in her assignment.  
Never infuriating. And most certainly not by her best friend.  
She turned towards Dominique with a quizzing look, amusement glimmering in her eyes.  
One desk behind them, Rose heard Scorpius snigger but decided to ignore it.  
 _For now, at least._  
"What did I do?" She asked her friend.  
Dominique, who Rose was noticing only now, was covered in some dubious liquid, sighed.  
"You didn't even study beforehand! How is your potion better than mine?"  
Ah, Dom, the everlasting O straight student. _Except for Potions_.  
Somehow, on the train to perfection, Dominique had skipped the Potions stop and was now paying the price.  
In Hippogriff saliva, it also seemed.  
Rose made a face, and pulled her wand out underneath the desk. One swift movement and Dom was clean.  
She mumbled a thank you.  
It seemed they didn't stop the talking soon enough, though.  
"Misses Weasley!" Professor Slughorn - who was on his way to becoming a fossil - yelled.  
The two girls immediately shut up. Rose liked Slughorn, she really did, but the old man seemed too bitter about his age to care anymore.  
When she was in second year, she heard Slughorn had made himself look twenty years younger.  
Of course, then she hadn't been paying much attention to any professors so it was hard to tell the difference.  
Sixth year and not much has changed.  
"Sorry, professor." Dominique mumbled for both of them.  
The desk behind them erupted in muffled laughter, and both girls turned around.  
One quick look at Dom and Rose knew both of them had their best death states on.  
Al had frozen momentarily, but Scorpius only smirked.  
"What's so funny?"  
However, before Rose could get her answer, Professor Slughorn scolded them a second time in one hour. Dominique was not happy.

* * *

The Gryffindor common room hadn't been exclusive to its house for more than 6 years. Which, of course, meant that the whole Weasley clan was there, talking.  
Rose looked around, stifling a laugh. Of course, as the house with most Weasleys, everyone almost always met there. Tonight, though, it seemed particularly crowded with guests.  
Rose caught a glimpse of her brother and went over.  
Hugo, to no one's surprise, was hanging out with his cousins. Or, two of them.  
Roxanne and Lily were discussing the last Qudditch match, and while Hugo didn't seem particularly interested, he listened.  
"Hey, little bro." Rose smirked, messing with Hugo's hair. The boy grunted and shoved her arm away.  
"What do you want?"  
Well, _that_ was a good question. What _did_ she want?  
"Just checking up on you."  
"I don't need babysitting."  
Rose froze, and looked at the two girls in hope of an explanation. None was given to her.  
Sighing, and also deciding she did not have the energy to deal with this, Rose left for the only place she kinda, sorta liked.  
She bumped into Al and Scorpius on her way out. _Literally, both of them_.  
"Where are you going?" Al asked, watching as Rose passed him.  
She shrugged. "To Hagrid's."  
"It's almost curfew." Scorpius hissed, and Rose rolled her eyes.  
Yes, it was. _Thank you, oh great Merlin_.  
"Then it's lucky I have an invisibility cloak with me." Rose smirked, and pulling the said object out of her bag, she wrapped herself in it.  
"Whatever." She heard Scorpius mutter, but she was almost out of hearing range, by then.  
She didn't know why she ended up being the one in the whole Weasley clan who was closest to Hagrid.  
Really, it made no sense.  
Well, her and Al, Dom and Scorpius. Which brought her back to the question of why the boys hadn't offered to come.  
She was so preoccupied with her own thoughts, she almost didn't notice Hagrid's cottage and, as a consequence, her nose almost suffered a dreadful collision.  
Luckily, Hagrid opened the door, in time to save Rose's face from maybe permanent damage.  
"Rosie!" He exclaimed, as made way for her. "Yeh aren supposed to be here this late!"  
Rose laughed, though she wasn't sure why. "Can't I just visit you every once in a while?"  
"Sure yeh can. Just not in the middle o' the night."  
Rose sighed. She should have expected this. But she didn't want to leave just yet.  
"Do you remember Jake?"  
Everyone inside the castle knew him, so why wouldn't Hagrid.  
The half-giant nodded to confirm it. Rose took it as an encouragement to go on, as well.  
"Well, he kinda broke up with me a few days ago."  
Dom knew.  
She was the only one who knew. Frankly, Rose wasn't sure how many of her siblings' pitying looks she could take before exploding. Everyone in her family, _literally_ everyone was in a relationship.  
Well, everyone except for Al, but he had a more restricted pool of possibilities so it didn't really count.  
"What 'bout some tea?" Hagrid finally said.  
Rose nodded, if only because she couldn't really refuse Hagrid. No one had the heart to. (No one but her dad, of course)

* * *

By the time she left, Rose was sure it was past midnight.  
It seemed so dark, then, that she wondered what the hell had been in her mind to go out in the first place.  
 _There's a reason Hogwarts imposes a curfew,_ she reminded herself.  
She sighed, knowing there was no turning back and tried to hurry.  
But as soon as she was a few steps away from Hagrid's, she felt watched.  
 _It's only paranoia_ , she reasoned and kept walking. Jogging, really. Her heart had started beating twice the normal speed and she wasn't such an athletic person either.  
The feeling wouldn't go away. And soon, it was paired with some strange sounds. Sounds like _footsteps_.  
Rose turned around, her heart in her chest, but her eyes saw nothing.  
 _Paranoia_ , she repeated.

She looked around one more time, truly forcing her eye-sight. Still nothing. It could have been a Thestral. Sighing, and with her heart still about to burst, she turned.

And then, all thoughts disappeared from her mind.  
In front of her stood a half-transformed werewolf.

* * *

 **A/N: So this is the first chapter and it goes a bit slow (and it's a bit short). Sorry about that, just stick with me and I promise more action.**

 **Also, I profoundly apologize for my lack of Hagrid dialect knowledge. If there's anything wrong with how I'm writing him, don't hesitate to tell me.**

 **That being said, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Alarte Ascendare!"  
The werewolf jumped a few feet in the air but landed back perfectly.  
And then it was advancing.  
Oh dear Merlin, it was advancing towards _her_.  
"Arresto Momentum!" She shouted, and didn't wait to see if if actually worked. She had read that one on a piece of paper, who knew what it actually did.  
Still, she kept running.  
The invisibility cloak was now not on her, but in her hands as Rose clutched to it.  
Why couldn't she remember any charms? It would be so easy to transform that thing into a cute little insect.  
She risked to turn her head and immediately wished she hadn't.  
He or she or _it_ was getting closer by the moment.  
"Alarte Ascendare!" She turned and yelled, but that only slowed her down.  
She felt the werewolf's claws dig deep into her skin, before she was forced down on the ground.  
 _No, no, no._  
"Alarte Ascendare!" She tried the third time, but her scream at the pain stopped her mid-spell.  
It had teared at her and Rose was sure she had already lost too much blood.  
The last thing she saw on a way to unconsciousness was a red light.

* * *

"I'm going to murder it!"  
"You don't know who _it_ was."  
"Then, I'm... I'm gonna murder all of them!"  
Rose came back to reality to her parents' argument.  
"Should I remind you that your brother is a werewolf? Not to mention your daughter -"  
Her mum never finished the sentence.  
Deciding she had heard enough of it, Ross opened her eyes. The bright light momentarily blinded her, and she fought to not show it.  
The last thing she remembered...  
 _Oh, dear Merlin._  
"Rosie!" Her mother cried, but before she got to the bed, Hugo was already hugging her.  
"Hey there." Rose said, her voice hoarse. _How long had seen been asleep?_  
Hugo only buried himself deeper in her, before extracting himself.  
"Don't ever do that again!" He said, as soon as he could look her in the eyes.  
Rose smiled and nodded, as her parents in turn hugged her.  
Her mother's hand brushed a few lost locks of brown hair away from Rose's eyes. She couldn't help but remember it was mum who gave her the brushy hair in the first place.  
That had been a source of great annoyance from age five onwards, but now it seemed like a trivial fact.  
"We didn't tell anyone outside the family, just so you know. It's completely up to you."  
Really, she should have smiled and thank them. It would have been so easy.  
But instead, Rose Weasley bursted into tears.  
And she cried, and cried, and cried because she had no idea what else to do.  
She was afraid to ask the question that was sitting at the tip of her tongue and even more afraid of the answer.  
So she just cried.

* * *

"Rose!"

Beaten by a centaur.  
That was what she was gonna say.  
There were a few scratches on her face - about seven and they will definitely scar - but the rest of the damage was under wraps.  
 _Literally_ , she was covered in bandages.  
"You've been crying!" Al noticed, as he took a seat on her right.  
Even Scorpius looked a bit worried.  
On any other day, Rose would have probably scoffed at even the idea. Now, though, she didn't have the energy.  
"I'm fine." She lied, hating feeling so hopeless.  
Dom, who had seated herself on the other side of the bed, shook her head. "Sure you are. Now, what happened?"  
 _That girl did not waste time_.  
Rose took a moment to look around. She found every cousin of hers there. And they were a lot.  
Briefly, she met Molly's eyes, and Rose swore she has never seen her so worried before.  
It was a strange sight, Molly Weasley the prankster, not laughing.  
Same went with Fred and James.  
"Jake broke up with me." She blurted out.  
Of course she would do that. Why, just _why_ , would she do that?  
To distract everyone from the obvious question, sure, but it was no less humiliating.  
"What?" Roxanne asked, disbelief playing on her face.  
That's it, Rose thought, take the bait. _Bite the bait._  
It didn't hold for long.  
"Stop procrastinating and tell us why you're covered in bandages!" Dom cut off whatever Roxanne was about to say. Her eyes showed that she was not kidding.  
For a moment, Rose wondered what it's like for her father to transform, every new moon, every time.  
Rose knew Uncle Bill's kids had been lucky to not get the werewolf gene along with the freckles.  
What a turn of fate, for them to be fine and for Rose to be cursed.  
"I was attacked by a centaur."  
Right away, she could tell no one believed her. _Who would_ , after all.  
It was Scorpius who cleared his throat to wash away the silence that had fallen.  
"Did you know him?" He asked.  
While Hagrid may have been friends with the weirdest beasts, the same could not be said about Rose.  
She shook her head. "It was dark, and I got lost."  
She could tell no one was buying it. Their eyes spoke for themselves. However, and this came as a total surprise, no one said anything to demand the truth.  
"That's a lie."  
 _Ups, she spoke too soon._  
Lily was looking indignantly at Rose. She was smart (she was a Ravenclaw, for heaven's sake) so why she hadn't noticed the silent looks between everyone was beyond the hospitalized girl.  
Then again, Lily spends most of her time either arguing or with her nose in a book. Her social skills were dreadfully inexistent.  
Rose watched as James nudged his little sister and apparently that was enough.  
For now, anyway.  
"What is everyone doing here?" Madam Pomfrey yelled, as she noticed the eleven (mostly ginger) guests.  
She was about to grab a broom, (not a flying one, a Muggle broom) and start shooing them away but James was faster.  
He pushed Lily out the door in a matter of seconds, and following his lead, everyone got out.  
Well, _almost_ everyone.  
"Are you gonna be okay?" Hugo whispered in Rose's ear.  
For a moment, she considered shaking her head and letting everything go (again). Instead, she nodded.  
"I'll be just fine." She whispered back.  
Hugo left with a hug.  
Rose watched her brother leave the Hospital Wing, before turning to her remaining guests.  
"Tell the truth." Dominique said, as soon as they were alone.  
Rose shook her head. "I told you, I was -"  
"Everyone knows centaurs don't attack unless provoked." Al stated, and it hit Rose that he was just as curious.  
Not that she was going to tell them.  
Her eyes caught Scorpius's and for a moment, she expected him to say something as well.  
He didn't.  
Well, at least _someone_ got it.  
"I'm fine." Rose said. "What does it matter how I got here?"  
"Of course it matters!" Scorpius suddenly said, and Rose realized she needed to stop jinxing her luck.  
 _Damn her brain for always speaking to soon._  
"And why is that?"  
Scorpius gritted his teeth. "Have you looked in a mirror, yet?"  
She had. She had and her eyes had concentrated on counting the wounds not on the whole picture.  
She was terrified of seeing the whole picture.  
"Yes, I have." _Nope_ , no one needed to know that she was scared. She wasn't a vain person by any stretch of imagination, but surely everyone preferred a scarless face.  
There was silence for a moment.  
"You know, I bet we can find some hexes to hide those forming scars." Dominique finally said.  
Rose forced a smile at her. Well, goodbye old life.  
She was about to say something - she had no idea what exactly - when someone walked in.  
Rose was the only one who immediately saw Headmistress McGonagall as she headed towards her bed.  
Her guests, noticing the change in atmosphere, turned around.  
"Professor." Said Al, who seemed to be the first to regain his composure.  
McGonagall was not cruel in any way, unlike _some_ other teachers. In fact, she even visited the Potter house every once in a while.  
But, that didn't help the fact that she was unimaginably stern.  
"Would you please give me and Miss Weasley a moment to talk?"  
No one commented, as they got up, leaving in such a quiet manner that it was almost amusing. _Almost_.  
Dom was the last one to exit, giving Rose a wink and a grin.  
Rose found herself stifling a laugh, a mood which quickly disappeared when she turned her attention towards the professor.  
The woman seated hereself at the base of the bed, and she looked incredibly awekward. Her spine was so straight, it couldn't have been comfortable and her lips seemed tightly pressed together, as if guiding the most precious secrets. Not to mention it was weird to be so close to a professor, even if you respected them.  
"How are you, Rose?"  
Her voice was sweet. _Why was her voice sweet?_ And her eyes, oh dear Merlin, there was so much pity in them it could swallow Rose whole.  
"I'm fine, thank you."  
McGonagall smiled, a terribly sad gesture, and went on. "I wanted you to know that, whatever happens, you can come to me."  
 _Nope_.  
This was not happening. Rose Weasley will not be pitted by the most badass professor in Hogwarts. There was simply no way that that will happen.  
"I am fine, Professor. _Really_."  
The woman sighed. "You know, Weasley," _Yes_ , back to surnames. That was the good sign. "You are not the first Hogwarts student to be infected."  
And just like that, without realizing it, Minerva McGonagall had confirmed Rose's worst fear.  
 _Of course_ she had been infected.  
There was no doubt about it.  
None whatsoever.  
Like she didn't have _other_ unpleasant monthly activities.

* * *

"We're going to beat your sorry ass tomorrow." James smiled cockily.

Scorpius laughed while Al scoffed. "Yeah right." He said.  
"Did your parents never tell you to listen to your older brother?"  
This was a common sight between James and Al. Whenever a Quidditch match was nearing, the two brothers seemed to be at each other's throats. The first few times it was funny to watch. Then, it got annoying.  
Rose sighed, and turned towards Dom. The girl may have been on the team but she had grown out of arguing before matches ever since second year.  
Now she was just tired of it.  
"Really, when will they stop?" Dom complained.  
Rose shrugged. "Next year?" She joked, and both girls burst into quiet laughter.  
This, being James's last year, was also his last change to win the cup.  
And he was sure fighting for it.  
He had been training with the team (which included Dominique) at least four times a week these past two weeks.  
Which, frankly, was driving Rose out of her mind.  
And when the Gryffindors weren't training, the Slytherins were. It was either Dom or Al and Scorpius. Rose missed the four of them hanging out together, if only because it seemed like the only thing constant in her life.

With _other_ changes and all that.  
Her wounds have almost all scarred by now (thanks to Madam Pomfrey and her skills. Really, what was the woman doing in a school hospital, when she could be worldly known?). However, the fact that Rose's arms were covered in long, narrow cuts rather than bruises did not help her case of centaur-attack.  
No one had commented on it, though, which was uncannily surprising.  
"Rose!" Al yelled, and the sound brought her back.  
"What?" She asked.  
Al and James were both glaring at her.  
"What did I do?" She tried again.  
As neither of the brothers decided to answer, Scorpius intervened. "They want to know which team you think will win." He explained, the boredom on his face comical.  
Rose considered for a moment. Who did she _not_ want to piss off more?  
"I don't know." She answered, hoping the brothers would find someone else to bother.  
 _They didn't_.  
"She's thinking Gryffindor!" James announced proudly, as if Rose had somehow said that. "It's her house, after all."  
Al scuffed. "Please, it's Slytherin. Of course she's rooting for me, I'm her best friend." He said, to which Dom purpusefully cleared her throat. "One of her best friends."  
Dominique was about to say something more, but she found herself with an owl in her hair instead.  
"What the -"  
The owl turned, twisted (Dom's perfect straight hair looked a lot like a nest at that moment) and then gave Dom a letter.  
The bird got off her head, and landed in front of the girl, an expecting look in its eyes.  
"Oh no. I am not giving you a treat. You don't deserve a treat."  
The owl looked a few moments more, and then, to everyone's surprise, it bit at Dom's finger.  
"Ouch!" She exclaimed, extracting the finger and brining it to her chest. "That hurt, you stupid bird." And then, because it wouldn't leave. "My father's a werewolf, you know."  
Rose froze at those words.  
She watched as the owl flew away, no longer begging. It's as if it understood Dom, as if it knew werewolves were trouble.  
With a sinking feeling, Rose got up and murmured an excuse. Everyone was too preoccupied with the express letter to care about her, so she hurried away.  
Really, she didn't know where she was headed. She let her feet walk her through corridors and around corners until somehow she was standing before the Room of Requirement.  
 _What the hell_ , she thought realizing she couldn't get more pathetic, and walked past it three times, a cupboard in her mind.  
And boy, did she get a cupboard. She could swear she had imagined the room bigger than this. It was so small, she barely had any air to breath, let alone pace around. But of course nothing would go well in her life.  
That thought was enough to make her burst into tears. And then, more tears came until her loud sobs became little more than silent cries. Pathetic  
After a while, Rose figured there was something wrong with her body: she either somehow had more water in her than a normal human being, or she was somehow leaking.  
Anyhow, she couldn't stop crying.

* * *

By the time she eventually did stop her tears from falling, it was already past curfew. Not wanting to go back (the last time she broke that rule was still _vividly_ fresh in her mind) she figured she might as well stay here.  
She was about to take a few more steps away from the door when she heard a sound on the other side of it.  
Rose swallowed, forcing her mind to think straight.  
 _No, it was no a werewolf_. Probably just some lost first year.  
Then the sound grew closer, and closer until Rose was sure someone was on the other side of the wall.  
She didn't dare breath, afraid that they will hear her. Afraid that they might kill her.  
Her hand dug in her pocket for her wand and she slowly exerted the object.  
Her heart was beating at the speed of light by now and having hold her breath for too long, she was finding it difficult to inhale.  
 _She was in no shape to fight._  
Still, she rose her wand just as the door opened to reveal -  
"What the hell?!" Scorpius took a step back, before taking two steps forward. Meanwhile, Rose had dropped her wand and now had a look of mixed terror and anger.  
"You scared the shit out of me!" She complained, and Scorpius gave her a look.  
"Really, _I_ scared the shit out of _you_?"  
Well, she had been the armed one.  
"Yes!"  
There was a momentary silence.  
"What are you doing here?" She asked, before muttering 'accio wand' under her breath.  
"Planning your assassination, what do you think I'm doing?" And when his sarcastic answer wasn't enough, he also added more quietly. "Looking for you."  
"Well, you found me." Rose declared, and she moved away from the door to let him in.  
"Anyway, isn't this room supposed to meet your requirements? Why did it let you in?"  
Scorpius scuffed. "Maybe you needed a friend. Or is good ole Rose too good for her friends?"  
"I didn't say that." She silently protested.  
"Right." He answered mockingly. "You won't even tell us the truth!"  
"I told you that -"  
"Have you been _crying_?"  
 _Shit._  
"No." Rose answered and tried to look away.  
"You have!" Scorpius pressed, and got closer.  
Shit. Shit. _Shit_.  
Then, as if by miracle, he stopped. "Fine. If you don't wanna tell me, then don't. But you should probably talk to someone."  
Wait, was he serious?  
"Yeah, I know." She answered, trying to sound sweet enough. She didn't, but Scorpius was used to it anyway.  
"Right." He said. "Then I'll just leave you to do... whatever it is that you're doing here."  
His hand reached to open the door, and that's when Rose figured she should thank him.  
"Thanks. For checking up on me." She even tried to smile.  
Scorpius only nodded and disappeared.  
 _Asshole._

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter!**

 **Well, I'm just going from a short chapter to a long one, aren't I? Hope whoever reads this doesn't mind though.**

 **Review, Favorite and/or Follow!**


	3. Chapter 3

Rose woke up to two things the next morning:  
1\. A terrible back ache from her sleeping position _and_  
2\. A dread that overcame her.  
Neither feelings were particularly well received but she figured if she started to miss classes, someone _will_ figure something was wrong.  
And she didn't want that, did she?  
So, grudgingly, she forced her almost numb feet up the ground and got up.  
She wished for a mirror but, since her memory couldn't find a spell to do that, Rose had no choice but to head back to the Gryffindor common room.  
Not that she was particularly keen on people asking all sorts of questions.  
She would kill for the invisibility cloak right about now. She murmured the password to the Fat Lady, who was too asleep to even notice, and went inside.  
The common room was stupidly quiet to her relief, and she realized she hadn't taken the hour into account. This was what happened when you were up before everyone else.  
Or, at least, _almost_ everyone.  
"Rose, get out of the way!"  
The girl barely had the change to dodge before a _bloody ball_ flew past her.  
"What the hell?" She yelled, and was immediately shushed by idiots.  
Meaning her cousins.  
"We're practicing." James said.  
 _Obviously_.  
"So is my head a goal post, then?" Rose answered sarcastically. She was, however, rudely ignored.  
"Hey, pass the ball!" Molly said (whispered/ yelled; Rose wasn't sure which exactly it was).  
In an instant, Fred - who Rose has not noticed because he was behind her- hit the ball.  
It flew from one side of the room to the other, barely avoiding collision with Rose's head. Resigning herself to watching her crazy family play with their little enchanted ball, she sat down in the furthest corner, and scanned the room. There was no sign of Dom, nor the rest of the team.  
So Rose watched a moment longer as the three chasers passed the ball between them, before disappearing into her dorm.  
As soon as she saw a mirror, she regretted ever wanting one.  
Her hair was one brown brushy mess, her blue eyes looked beyond tired and that wasn't even the worst part.  
The scars - they were all scars by now - seemed to rip through her face, connecting freckles.  
The most obvious one crossed from her left eyebrow, across her nose and stopped close to the right margin of her lips. Then, there was another one going from a little above her right ear, brushing her right eyebrow and up a little more. One that seemed to be an identical mirror, only down towards her cheek on her left side. And the last big one crossed her chin to a bit to the right of the middle of her lower lip.  
Then small scars, who were mostly on her right covered the space like mosaic pieces.  
Rose had never felt as ugly, as utterly destroyed as right now.  
She was so caught up in her own reflection that she didn't notice Dominique as the girl woke up, and walked over to Rose.  
It was only when she put a hand on her shoulder that Rose remembered she was not alone.  
"I can fix that." She whispered, analyzing her face in the mirror. "Mom gave me this charm to hide pimples, but I guess it works just as well on this."  
Rose nodded, grateful for the distraction.  
Then, she remembered the events of the previous night.  
"Hey Dom?"  
"Hm?" The girl answered, as she was already searching for wherever she had wrote the charm on.  
"What was in the letter?"  
Dominique suddenly stopped, her body freezing. "Sorry?"  
"The letter. What was in it?" Rose pressed.  
She already felt guilty about leaving like that, and not knowing something about her best friend ate her alive (wrong choice of words considering her situation).  
"Nothing."  
"Come on, Dom." Rose said, eyeing her other two roommates.  
Cait was, as always, sleeping.  
And Helena was, as almost always, not in the room at all.  
"Well, why weren't you there in the first place?" Dom asked, turning the conversation around.  
Rose swallowed.  
"I didn't feel well."  
Dom scuffed. "Right. Not well enough to sleep in your own room either, I see."  
"That's not what -"  
"Whatever."  
Dominique sighed, and walked away leaving Rose puzzled. Did they just have a fight?  
Even the thought of it gutted her. (not a good choice of words either, what was _wrong_ with her?)

* * *

Rose walked to the Quidditch pitch early, and immediately found a vacant seat next to the Scamander twins.

While Lysander was dressed in Gryffindor colors, Lorcan was covered in green and silver.  
"Hey Rose." Lysander, who had noticed her first, greeted.  
Rose nodded back.  
This got Lorcan's attention as well. "How are you feeling?" He asked.  
She tried not to be irritated by the lack of privacy. "I'm fine." She even managed a smile.  
Lorcan smiled right back, and then, out of no where, his ears turned pink.  
 _What the bloody hell?_  
His brother laughed at the sudden change, and turned to Rose.  
"Did I do something?"  
"No." Lysander said. "He just wanted to ask you something."  
Rose furrowed her brows but waited as Lorcan was pushed into asking. "Um... I was, you know..." Well, she had definitely never heard Lorcan so unsure about what to say. It was almost comical. "If you know whether Albus has any preference for... Um, dating."  
 _What?!_  
Lysander rolled his eyes at his brother, and clarified things. "He wants to know if Al is gay."  
 _Oh_.  
"Yeah."  
Rose had seen people in love, or at least she thought she had. But nothing compared to the bright smile that broke on Lorcan's face. It was truly amazing, and she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.  
Lorcan seemed blissfully oblivious to it.  
By the time the match had started, Rose was deep in conversation with Lysander about books. Or, rather, Lysander was doing the talking and she was just listening quietly.  
Lorcan seemed to do the same, though Rose wasn't sure how much he actually heard.  
"I think the beast is the author's way of showing how human nature has both a good and a bad side."  
Really, Rose had brought the book up because she had enjoyed it. She wasn't expecting a commentary on its subtle metaphors or whatever, though talking with a Ravenclaw seemed to lead no nothing else but.  
She sighed, just as the match was beginning. Her eyes scanned the crowd and briefly stumbled across her brother, but he seemed too deep in whatever it was that he was reading.  
It was a miracle but out of the Quidditch-playing-Weasley kids, the two of them were the only ones uninterested in the sport.  
Well, Hugo was also uninterested in watching it but the same could not be said for Rose.  
Her eyes travelled back to the pitch just as as the golden snitch flew and both teams were in the air.  
Then, it begun.  
She watched as the Quaffles and Buldgers were being handed from left to right, between the players. Rose was barely paying attention to the comments though, her eyes solely trained on what was happening.  
There was something wrong about Dom, Rose could immediately tell.  
Not only did she let 3 Quaffles past her (this never happened to Dominique; she was an incredible Keeper) but she also seemed off balance on her broom.  
More than once, Rose took a sharp breath as Dom wavered on her broom.  
 _They should be calling this off, she was obviously unwell!_  
Lysander seemed to notice Rose's discomfort, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything though, and she appreciated that.  
"Come on, Dom." She muttered, when her friend made a particularly imbalanced save.  
It was the first time in a while that Rose heard the score: "50 to 20 for Slytherin."  
 _Why weren't they calling the game off, what were they waiting for?_  
Rose wished the next second that she had never thought that. She watched in horror as Dominique stumbled to block a goal, as the Quaffle rotated towards her.  
And then, she was falling off her broom and into air.  
Rose couldn't remember herself getting up, or screaming but she must have had. The same reaction - though slightly slower- came as the crowd realized what was happening.  
 _Think_! She urged herself, searching her mind for any spell that might stop this. But she wasn't thinking, her mind was completely blank but for the image before her.  
And then, out of sheer nowhere, Methias, the Gryffindor seeker, was diving in the air after Dom, his speed frightening.  
Rose wanted to close her eyes but she didn't dare. Beside her, Lysander's hand had tightened to a point where it hurt Rose's shoulder. She didn't particularly care.  
"No." She whispered. Then, Methias caught Dominique and the two of them stumbled together to the ground.  
The whole stadium was dead silent for a moment, as if the whole world had frozen.  
And then, Rose was running, ignoring feet and legs and stairs and who knows what else that stood in her way to her best friend.

* * *

 **Dear Merlin, please forgive me. This took forever! Hope this was worth the wait, though.**

 **And, also in case you were wondering, Lorcan's a Hufflepuff.**

 **Oh, and Methias has no famous parentage. He's completely my own (except for, you know, his house, cloak, wand, school, gift etc.)**


	4. Chapter 4

The hospital wing had never seemed sadder as about twenty people waited in silence for news.

Rose's eyes had travelled across the faces multiple times, each time returning to the blank wall before her.

Beside her, Lily was deep in hushed conversation with Roxanne, a discussion articulated with hand gestures.

Beside her, Lysander had tried to start a conversation multiple times, though Rose hadn't felt like talking.

Her eyes tried to reach for Al's a forth time, but instead, met Scorpius's.

He seemed as worried as Rose felt.

His eyes were asking her to talk, so she nodded in response. At this, he got up, and walked towards the farthest corner.

Al, who sat beside him, was too much in his own mind to notice.

Rose followed Scorpius's lead.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, and Rose shrugged.

"Worried."

Scorpius nodded, as if taking the information in. "And about last night?"

She had completely forgot! It felt like an eternity ago that she was crying in the Room of Requirements.

"Fine."

Scorpius nodded again, and was about to go back to his old spot, when Rose stopped him.

"The letter Dom got. What was in it?" She asked him, knowing that he had been there.

"I don't know." He answered. "No one does. Dom didn't tell us."

 _Oh_.

Rose had selfishly hoped that this was the case, and that Dominique wasn't actually mad at her specifically.

Bur now, face to face with the fact, she didn't feel quite as happy knowing her best friend had no one to confide in.

 _Maybe..._

Maybe if Rose told her about her secret, then Dom would do the same.

 _Maybe_.

It was worth a shot.

* * *

Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur appeared a few minutes later, followed by Teddy and Victorie.

Family went first (meaning Bill, Fleur, Victorie and Louis)

Then the rest of the Weasley-Potter clan.

And then, the Quidditch team and whomever happened to be a friend of Dom's.

Rose had stayed by her side from the moment she was allowed in and to the end.

(In her time there, she noticed that Methias hadn't had half as many visitors)

"Well, that was tiring." Dominique said, when it was just her, Rose, Al and Scorpius.

And Methias with James and Darrell( the Gryffindor Seeker) both helping him up.

"Thanks." Dom suddenly said.

Methias turned to look at her, his eyes gleaming. "Anytime." He smiled.

Dominique's face changed from shyness, to bliss to cockiness in a matter of seconds.

It ended with a smirk breaking on her lips.

The same look was mirrored in Methias' face.

"Care to show your gratitude with a date?"

Dominique laughed. "Not quite available at the moment." She answered. "But when I get out of here..."

Methias nodded. "When you get out of here." He agreed, his smirk turning into an endearing smile.

The two looked at each other until the moment Methias was ultimately forced to turn around, or else he'd walk through a door.

As soon as he was out of the room, Rose turned to her friend with a mischievous smiled.

"What was that?" She asked.

Dom shrugged, unable to help the genuine smile breaking on her lips. "Nothing."

"Right." Al said, sarcastically.

They all laughed, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with just the four of them.

"Since we're talking about this..." Rose started, remembering Lorcan. Everyone fell silent, waiting for her to continue. "Al, do you happen to like anyone these days?"

It was in that moment that Al's ears turned a bright shade of pink. It was almost comical.

"You do!" Dom intervened, probably noticing the same change.

Scorpius simply laughed, though it was obvious he wanted to know just as much as the girls.

"Why are you even asking me? Torment Scorpius!" Al protested.

"Thanks for throwing me to the dragons." The blonde haired boy replied sarcastically. Al just shrugged, as if to say it wasn't really his fault.

"Good point!" Dom said.

Rose, who wanted to go back to Al, tried to finish this conversation as soon as possible: "Didn't you have a crush on Molly or something?"

"That was first year." Scorpius mumbled. Oh, she remembered. For a while there, she had a crush on him, though that passed. "But things change." He added, and for whatever reason his eyes were very indignantly looking at her.

Rose tried to shrug it off.

"Okay, but back to Al. Tell us!" She pressed.

Al sighed, and decided to give in: "Fine... I sorta, maybe like Lorcan but... I don't exactly know if he's ..."

"He's gay." Rose confirmed, too happy. Playing matchmaker was fun.

Al's eyes seemed to turn to bright lights in a moment, as he smiled. "Really? How do you know?"

Rose shrugged. "I was talking to him and Lysander before the game."

Al nodded, taking the information in.

Meanwhile, Dom was thinking about other things: "Wait, Lysander as in the boy who has had a crush on you since forever?"

Rose furrowed her brows. What was he talking about?

Beside her, she felt Scorpius stiffen.

"He doesn't." She answered simply, because she didn't know what else to say.

"Sure, he doesn't." Scorpius answered sarcastically. Rose chose to roll her eyes but didn't comment.

"Come on, Rose. Everyone knows that." Dominique commented, as she leaned on the bed.

"I didn't." Rose answered, wondering how she had missed it. If he was as obvious as everyone said he was, surely she would have noticed.

They kept talking after that, their laughs echoing with happiness in the otherwise empty room.

It was already past curfew when Madam Pomfrey shooed them.

"We'll be here tomorrow." Rose promised her best friend, before leaving her to rest.

They walked to their dorms in perfect silence.

* * *

The next days came and went in a blur. Rose had masterfully avoided any mirrors, although she dreaded to see how her already puffy hair looked without having been tended to. Her mind was preoccupied with finding out what Dom's letter was about.

Madam Pomfrey had declared stress was the problem, which would have been understandable had Dominique been stressed and had school not only just stared. So, in all rational fairness, it had to be the cursed letter.

Which brought Rose back to what the letter said.

Dominique wouldn't even begin to tell her, not without a good reason. Rose's plan to reveal _her_ secret so Dom would tell hers was starting to look like the only choice.

So, five nights after the accident, she sneaked in the hospital wing. James didn't need the Invisibility Cloak anyway.

"I know you're there, Rose." Dominique said, as soon as the lights were off.

Rose took the cloak off her head, becoming a bodiless figure. "How'd you figure it out?"

Her brown haired friend shrugged. "You almost bumped into a vase."

It was true, she was terribly clumsy in general. Not seeing your own hands didn't help. "Don't act like you don't trip every two steps." She fired back instead.

Dom shrugged, pointing to herself. "I think we have established that already."

Suddenly Rose felt bad for pointing it out.

"Why are you even here?" She asked, her voice teasing.

"Well, you won't tell me what that letter was." Rose said, as she got closer.

Dom rolled her eyes. "It was nothing. Drop it, already."

"Like you dropped off that broom?" Rose inquired, before immediately regretting it. _Curse her mouth_.

There was silence for a moment.

"That was rude." Dom pointed out.

"It was." Rose agreed, but didn't back out.

Another moment of silence followed, before either girls said anything.

"What if I told you what really happened to me that night?" Rose finally spoke, her voice both shy and shaking. She hated how she sounded.

For a few seconds, Dominique didn't say anything. "Are you bargaining?" She asked, disbelief on her face.

"Yes."

"Stop. It doesn't suit you."

Rose bit her tongue, trying not to remark that it seemed to be working. Two loud heartbeats later, Dom had agreed.

"You go first, though." Her friend stated, her face a combination of smirking and frowning.

"Fine. But you have to tell me right after. No questions asked."

Dominique agreed, her straight brown hair shaking as she nodded.

"I was attacked by a werewolf." And, before Dom could say anything, Rose added: "You promised."

"My dad was almost killed by a pack of werewolves. They were trying to get him to join their pack or something."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **I also hope you didn't see that coming!**


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